Banking Sector Loses Nearly Two Billion Birr to Fraud

Jun 4 , 2022

Commercial banks in Ethiopia lost close to two billion Birr due to fraudulent activities, a study conducted by the Ministry of Justice showed. Carried out based on the information gathered from financial institutions, the study found that officials and employees of banks, and personnel at Ethio telecom, were found to be involved in fraud crimes. Out of the total lost amount, banks targeted, half of the loss is incurred by the state owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) while 17pc of the loss is accounted to the Bank of Abyssinia. Officials stress that the crimes are found to be complex in nature, making criminals face justice and retrieving the stolen money very difficult. The study findings show that frauds worth 370 billion Br have been attempted on banks since 2017.